Danganronpa Re:Begin
by Phoboschan
Summary: When the Ultimate Thief receives an invitation to Hope's Peak Academy, Ren Mizokawa is excited beyond belief. But waiting for him behind the doors wasn't a hopeful high school life - but one of sheer, utter despair. A brand new game of Danganronpa is about to begin. Surviving students: 16
1. PROLOGUE

The building could be seen no matter where you were in the city. The tall, imposing, yet fascinatingly wonderful building that sparked hope.

Hope's Peak Academy. A government funded school dedicated to educating and furthering only the best of the best. Those who graduated from here had changed the world. There was no way to apply - sixteen students across the country had to be scouted first, all with unique and individual talents which placed second to none.

And yet, there I stood, closer to this building than everyone in this city. While you could see it from anywhere, you could never see the whole thing. The gates or other structures always obscured your view of the bottom. But now, as close as I was, it was impossible to fit it all in my eyes. That, in a way, described how I supposed I was feeling at that moment. A perfectly straight, well-cared for slip of card rested in my left hand. Was I deserving of such an invitation? I, who had never thought of myself as anything special?

No.

I steeled. I was chosen. Among all other high school students, I was chosen to represent this talent and this school. That was reason enough to believe in myself. No more waiting around. No more standing in the shade of this building. It was time to start my high school career. The automatic doors welcomed me. I stepped forward into that building, that building of talent, that building of ambition, that building of hope.

But the moment I did, the world around me distorted.

It twisted, it churned, it spun, it crushed, it burned, it stretched. Colours darted around, spotting my vision irregularly and painfully, overlapping one another and scorching my eyes. My head was exploding with fireworks. My whole body felt like it was about to crack open.

And then, all of a sudden, the spots collided. They filled my eyes until I could only see black. And then, the pain stopped. And then, I couldn't feel anything.


	2. CHAPTER 1 - PART 1

CHAPTER 1

Am I dreaming? A question I ask myself a lot. After all, often, dreams can be painfully mundane. You get dressed, you eat breakfast, you go to school, and then oops- you were asleep the whole time. But sometimes, reality can be such a wild rollercoaster anyone would assume that they were actually dreaming. Am I dreaming?

The crackle of a fire danced around me playfully, gently enticing me to wake up. I didn't want to. I felt heavy. Sick and heavy. It then came to me. I didn't remember going to bed last night. I jolted my eyes open, concerned. But what I saw was the last thing I was expecting to see. A pair of dark green eyes, limitless like a deep forest.

"Eeeeeek!" They jumped back, and as did I, darting my hands to my pockets in terror. Now in full view of me, however, was a girl. She was clad in a sailor uniform with a dark green skirt and collar, complete with a red ribbon underneath. She had green argyle ankle socks and mary janes, and her apricot-coloured hair was waist-length, straight and loose. A red mushroom hairpin rested to the right of her fringe. On second thought, I decided to leave my daggers where they were. She didn't seem dangerous, at the very least.

"Heya. I'm sorry for scaring you." I bowed apologetically. It was then that I realised I was seated atop a notably comfy leather armchair.

"Oh, um... that's okay?" She whispered shyly, running her fingers through a large lock of her hair and not meeting my eyes. We appeared to be in some kind of lounge, with red brick walls, a rustic fireplace and an oddly terrifying bear rug.

"Do you know where we might be?" I asked in a calm voice. If I came across as scared, I could still be taken advantage of.

"Ah, um..." She trailed off meekly. "I'm not sure either..."

"Well, that's weird." I tipped my head. "As for me, I walked into Hope's Peak, felt dizzy and woke up here."

"I'm... the same." She gave the smallest of smiles. Perhaps she felt better to not be alone in her predicament.

"You're a Hope's Peak student too? What's your name?" I offered in a friendly tone. She may even be my classmate.

"...Kaori Yorufuku. The Ultimate Mycologist."

"Aha, mushrooms, isn't it?" I grinned.

"Y-yes!" She balled her hands into fists, eyes sparkling. Students of Hope's Peak were often so famous, each year's class was always a matter of discussion. To perhaps get to know my classmates beforehand, I'd researched forums dedicated to talking about them. So, as I found out, Kaori Yorufuku was the Ultimate Mycologist. The high school girl who could identify any mushroom in the world with a single glance, who's made crazy contributions to the understanding of fungi, and the one who had managed to breed several species to make mushrooms with incredible medicinal and culinary properties. Supposedly she was known as a god in the world of mycology. For someone who appeared so diminutive, that was quite a track record. I shook her hand, honestly impressed.

"And I'm Ren Mizokawa." I smiled. "The Ultimate Thief." Immediately, she snatched back her hand, gripping her shoulder bag close to her with a suspicious gaze. "Relax, Yorufuku-san. I'm not going to steal from you. If I wanted to, I would've already done it, and I don't just steal for no reason." I grinned, fighting back the urge to mock her. "Let's get along."

"S... sorry..." Yorufuku softened, staring dejectedly at the floor. "That was rude..."

"Please don't worry about it. It's a natural reaction." I flapped a hand, dismissing it. "Do you think this is Hope's Peak?"

"Um... n-no..." She shook her head, then pointed with a shaking arm toward something behind me. I twisted a little, then caught sight of a window fixed in the wall.

"Snow..." I breathed, confounded. Surely it was April? Where were we? We appeared to be on the ground floor, outside a huge heap of rested snow and a few conifers dotted around.

"S-so we can't be in Hope's Peak..." she poked her fingers together.

"Then where on earth could we be? Did we get kidnapped? Why don't we remember? Are there others?" I was questioning myself. No matter how hard I concentrated, my last memory was surely back there.

"There's... another thing." Yorufuku handed me a flimsy piece of paper with some pieced together characters.

 _'Hey there new kids! The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this place will be your entire world. The opening ceremony starts at 08:00 in the gym. Don't be late, or there'll be punishment!'_

I glanced up at the clock. It was 07:30.

"Should we go...?" Yorufuku asked, looking at me desperately. "It could be a trap... I don't trust it."

"No, I don't think so." I shook my head. "If somebody wanted to kill us, they already would have, especially with us passed out until just now. Besides, this mentions a punishment, and I'm not sure I want to get on the bad side of whoever kidnapped us. I think you should come with me, Yorufuku-san." I suggested, standing up.

"O... okay..." she shivered, crossing her arms over her chest. Looking back, I wish I never asked her that. I wish we stayed in that room, thinking that letter was a trap. Because the moment we opened that door, our completely absurd, completely horrifying, completely real high school life begun.

 **AN:**

 **Thanks for giving this a read! I've never written fanfiction in my life before, but I'll do my best to make this as exciting and interesting as possible. Also, I'm considering having Free Time later on, so please let me know which characters you'd like to see Ren talk to!**


	3. CHAPTER 1 - PART 2

**AN:**

 **I'm really sorry if this chapter's a bit slow - please bear with me! It's very difficult to introduce sixteen crazy Danganronpa characters without pictures.**

Outside the door, we found a rather large hall with plenty other doors around the place. There was even a staircase to the upstairs, but it was blocked by a large metal shutter. Unfortunately, though, we didn't have time to check it out. We headed for the door with a sign above it with the character for 'gym'. With a nod to Yorufuku, I pushed open the wooden door, the creak just adding the rising tension boiling inside of me. The gym was rather large, around the size where it would be easy to play all kinds of sports, with markers set out on the ground. More surprising, though, was the presence of many others - fourteen, to be exact.

"Hey, is that another two people?" A boy with messy pink hair pointed at us with a confused look.

"Woohoo! Let's celebrate!" A girl with crazy blonde hair cheered, thrusting a brightly-coloured pom pom into the air.

"Uh, maybe we should work out why we're here before we party..." The grey-haired guy gave her a stinging glare.

"Who are you two?" A girl with massive brown hair asked sharply.

"Well, I'm Ren Mizokawa, the Ultimate Thief, and..." Yorufuku jumped, realising people wanted her to speak, but then seemed to feel too awkward to open her mouth. "She's Kaori Yorufuku-san, the Ultimate Mycologist. Nice to meet you." I smiled.

"Hmph. Well, I'm Mika Shiraishi, the Ultimate Animal Tamer." she humphed unfriendlily. Her hair had been teased to ungodly amounts, and she appeared to be gyaru, despite the fact I hadn't seen one in years. Her brown eyes were caked in mascara and eyeliner, and she wore a white sweater with white shorts and huge black boots. Her nails were almost scary, really long and covered in leopard print. Shiraishi, supposedly, could befriend and communicate with any animal, predator or prey. She'd even taught several animals how to play instruments and helped them form a band. Like... wow. A muscular guy with spiky green hair stepped out behind her, instantly making me tense up.

"Kyousuke Kanayo, Ultimate Parkourist. A pleasure." He said briefly, lifting a hand. He wore a grey hoodie and track pants, and had an intimidating look that ser me on edge.

"Nice to meet you, Kyousuke." I said robotically.

"You're on first name terms...?" Yorufuku frowned.

"Well, no, but it would feel weird to call him anything but that..." Of course, Kyousuke didn't have to introduce himself to me. We didn't know each other, but he was absolutely infamous in the underworld - my frontier. Every so often, he'd post a random picture of his location to 2chan or 4chan and ask what he should do. Whoever got the lucky post number... well, he'd do anything they said. He had no limits, and could accomplish anything. He'd come to be known as a king in these circles. That, of course, made him extremely dangerous, and plenty of criminal organisations had been trying to recruit him for years. He always declined, but still frightened me. It seemed no one else was aware of the danger he held.

"Ooh, ooh, my go my go!" The blonde girl jumped in, striking an exciteable pose. Her long hair was tied into two pigtails, and certain sections were coloured either white, neon blue or neon pink. Her eyes were similarly pink, and her rather skimpy uniform was made up of all the same colours. Her thigh high socks were decorated with white stars at the top, one blue, one pink, and her pom poms continued the colour theme. "I'm Natsumi Araki!" She formed a victory sign. "The cheerful, the cheery, the opposite of anti-cheer Ultimate Cheerleader Natsumiiiin!" She was shouting in such a loud voice, I had no idea how to react. "SO GIMME AN N!"

"N!" A guy in a black hoodie repeated from next to her with eyes sparkling.

"GIMME AN A!"

"A!"

"GIMME A T!"

"T!" It was then that I realised that _I_ was the one who just shouted that. And then, as we continued to spell out 'Natsumi' in full english, soon the entire room had joined in.

"Why do I... suddenly feel so full of energy?!" I looked at my hands. I felt like I could climb Mount Everest.

"That's my cheer power! Believe it!" she winked happily. Natsumi Araki, the Ultimate Cheerleader, could invigorate anyone to crazy lengths. The side she cheered for in sports matches had never lost. That was some kind of power...

"Natsumi-chan, you're amazing!" The hooded boy immediately hugged her, and she burst out laughing and hugged him back.

"Thank you, Tsubasa-chan! You are too!" I twitched. Tsu... basa...

"Haha. First name basis. How adorable." A girl with pink hair glared from behind them. They took no notice.

"Anyway, I'm Tsubasa Morimiya. The Ultimate Cult Leader. But I wish they'd call me the Ultimate Religious Leader already..." he announced in a slow, slightly creepy voice. It befit his appearance. He was very, very short, with dark purple hair covering his left eye and casting a dark shadow over his face. He wore a black hoodie and jeans, the hood up and adorned with two cat ears. A small, hollow star was embellished on the right side of the hoodie. Creepy... of all people here, I'd wanted to meet Morimiya the least, even more than Kyousuke, but he was the one student everyone knew would make it in this year. He was absolutely infamous, appearing on TV all over the world. Despite being so young, he was the leader of the Cult of Gxhscnjkxvsrxl, which had taken Japan by storm. His cult was said to have over ten percent of the population under its wing, and he could convince anyone. I had bad experiences with cults in the past, so perhaps it was obvious that I would be afraid of him.

"Ugh, lame..." The pink haired girl glowered at him with an equally creepy, if not creepier stare. "Like you're so special..."

"Well, if you're so much specialer, why don't you introduce yourself?" Morimiya stuck his tongue out childishly. "We'll be the judge of that."

"Very well. I am Hekate Cullen, Ultimate Author and vampiress of the night. I am the writer of the Forbidden series." she curtsied. Jesus... looking at her, she was an absolutely mess. Her hair was clearly dyed, the pink running thin, and it was set in two low fluffy pigtails. Her strappy pink dress flowed right down to the floor, but the ends were teared and there was a large rip in the side. Her bare arms were scarily skinny, and she clutched a black book very possessively. Cullen... A pen name that had become her own. The origin story of her series, Forbidden, was a bit off the rails. Cullen was supposedly the biggest Twilight fan there was, and attempted to write fanfiction of it. Unfortunately... she couldn't characterise Edward. She simply couldn't. He came out as a completely different person, one women found immensely more attractive than the real Edward. Her editors changed his name, and thus begun the most popular romance books in the country.

"Man, she won't stop saying she's a vampiress." A guy with bright red hair grimaced behind us, one arm behind his head. "It's kind of creepy. I woke up in a room with her, and I've been dealing with this for way too long. Anyway, I'm Hiroki Ryuuki, the Ultimate Pickup Artist. Nice to meet you all." His hair was styled in quite a flamboyant way, the back coloured black and very noticeable. He wore a black leather jacket and what appeared to be fashionable biker's clothes, and was notably quite attractive.

"Pickup Artist?" Yorufuku questioned.

"I pick up people." he grinned. "I'm pretty confident in my ability to get with anyone I want." It wasn't a lie. Ryuuki was known for getting in the bed of even celebrities, and he was an absolute force to be reckoned with. Very few could resist his charms. Only problem was...

"U-um..." Yorufuku attempted to hide behind my back, but she shook his head.

"Oh, no worries. I'm gay." Yeah, that. Ryuuki was men only.

"Why, you're so bold." A very tall boy observed from next to him. My heart pounded. Oh my god...

"Nagi-chan!" I screamed, pouncing on him and taking him totally off balance.

"N-Nagi-chan?!" he blushed. "Fiend, you know not what you say!"

"I'm your biggest fan ever ever _ever_ , Nagi-chan!" I squealed, unable to contain my excitement.

"Aha, then I suppose I can't be angry over the love of a fan... it is an honour, Mizokawa-san." he smiled genuinely. See, he's the absolute best! "You must know already, but I am Izanagi Kagami, the Ultimate Actor." Nagi had curly brown hair, yellow eyes, and always wore a beautiful, flowing yukata. Strapped to the side of his head was an expertly crafted kitsune mask, hand painted. Nagi was a hugely famous actor, appearing even in many adult roles despite his young age. His handsome appearance and charisma made him incredibly popular, and he even had a cologne and a clothing brand already, not to mention his beautiful acting skills.

"Alright, time to stop speaking like you have mental problems." The pink hair guy smiled sarcastically and patted his shoulder.

"Silence, onii-san!" Nagi barked back. "I speak only how I know to!" The room had fallen entirely silent.

"O... onii-san...?" I uttered.

"Mikoto Kagami, Izanagi's older twin brother." he grinned, hands in the pockets of his blazer. "Lovely to be back."

"You're dead!" Shiraishi yelled.

"No, no. I'm _presumed_ dead." Kagami laughed. "And now I'm back - as, as it happens, the Ultimate Stalker." We could hardly believe it. Kagami's pink hair was messy, and his blue eyes were offset to Nagi's yellow. He wore a high school uniform very sloppily with a brown blazer and a blue tie halfway down his chest. Nagi and Kagami were the former prime minister's children. While Nagi made it big, Kagami... got kidnapped. It was a huge scandal. And in the end, Kagami was never returned. He was pronounced dead. And here he was, in the flesh. Even the forums hadn't mentioned Mikoto Kagami showing up. "Long story short, I did return safely. But they publicly said I was dead so I could do undercover government work." he shrugged. "So here I am, as the Ulimate Stalker."

"What... does that even mean?" I raised an eyebrow. His talent was the only enigma.

"It means, Mizokawa-san, that I've been stalking one of the people in this room for the past five years." he smiled innocently.

"...Uh, who?" Ryuuki asked with a frown.

"I wouldn't be the Ultimate Stalker if I told you, bonehead." Kagami glared at him.

"No, you're the idiot!" An absolutely tiny girl with white hair piped up. "You should always be honest. You'll never make any friends unless you tell the truth."

"Someone help, a house rat's after me..." Kagami looked away, speaking with a bored tone.

"Hey! I was trying to help you!" she stomped her foot indignantly.

"Don't worry about him." Nagi replied with a smile. "Mikoto isn't the kind of person you would like to get along with. Who are you?"

"I'm... um..." she appeared to stumble on her words for a moment, as if forgetting why she was here. "I'm Momoka Rantomo, the Ultimate Girl Scout." she proudly placed her hands on her hips, looking up at the room full of much taller people. Her white hair was tied up into two bear buns with light pink ribbons, and her girl scout necktie and skirt were also cherry blossom pink. ...Cute. Rantomo, though, shouldn't've been underestimated. Her survival skills were second to none, and she had so many talents under her belt. Not only that, but she was heavily involved in running and organising the Girl Scouts of Japan.

"Umm, so, like, Kagami-kun got resurrected from the dead?" A tanned girl with black hair in a side-tail wondered. "Now _that's_ a cool origin story!"

"Nah, it happened to my grandpa..." A red-headed girl spoke slowly with a huge grin. "We buried him. And he got back up. And asked us what we thought we were doing."

"Wow, cool!" she grinned, shaking her fists in excitement. "I wanna resurrect from the dead too! Oh, and I almost forgot! I'm Yuuna Kisaragi, Ultimate Basketball Player!" True enough, she wore a red basketball uniform, and looked pretty much ready to play right now. Despite her not so huge size, Kisaragi was a living legend in the basketball world. What she lacked in height, she made up for in crazy technique that made even experts' eyes water.

"Oh... and yeah... I'm like... the Ultimate Gardener or something like that?" the red head offered without a care in the world. "Bianka Nouki..." Oh boy. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, spiking up at the back like a maple leaf. Or maybe something else. She wore red gloves, but other than that, she was in a very casual shirt and trousers, as if she really didn't care. Nouki was a girl who could make plants grow, no matter what the conditions, no matter what the plant. She'd saved several species from the brink of extinction, but it seems her main crop was... well...

Weed?

"Have the decency to pay attention, why don't you..." the grey-haired guy grit his teeth furiously at her. "It's not like we're probably in huge amounts of danger, no, no way..."

"Alright, rude face, what's your name?!" A girl with black hair screamed at the top of her lungs, proceeding to break out into dance.

"Haruka Shibarakuni." he huffed, crossing his arms and looking away.

"And you are...?" I prompted.

"I don't remember." he growled.

"You don't _remember?_ " Kisaragi gasped. "How can you forget something like your Ultimate talent?"

"...I don't know. I just did." Shibarakuni ended the conversation right there with his forceful tone. He wore a black suit with a white shirt and grey tie. I tried to think back to the forum, but for some reason, I couldn't seem to remember Shibarakuni's talent... what? What on earth was it?

"Ignoring The Grouch TM, I am, I know I know, get ready, be prepared, bow down, Akari Kozoku, the Ultimate Hunter!" she winked playfully, rocking back on her heels. As in, literal huge black high heels. Her hair was cut into a short feathered bob, and wore a huge white ribbon even bigger than her head behind it. She wore a floaty black asymmetrical dress with a white crossbow decal, and sailor collar, and solid black stockings. Where the asymmetry exposed her right leg, there was a garter with several knives packed inside. Shirashi glared at her fiercely, but she took no mind.

"...You really don't look much like a hunter..." Yorufuku voiced all of our thoughts.

"Yuh, and your mum doesn't look much like a woman either, but here we are." she shrugged. Kozoku was famous for hunting down and killing a sloth bear, one of the most dangerous animals on earth. Beyond that, there was supposedly no animal she couldn't catch. A silent, deadly predator, the true top of the food chain... but looking at this loud girl, I found it a bit hard to believe.

"So that's fifteen..." I looked around. "Where's the sixteenth?"

"He's here!" Morimiya laughed sinisterly, pointing towards someone hid neatly in the corner.

"I-I-I... I'm not... h-h-here..." he stammered, hiding his face in his hands. He was certainly... unique looking. His big hair was lavender, gradually fading into a light green gradient at the tips. For some reason, he had black horns protruding from his head, and he was wearing a school uniform with a lavender cardigan.

By that, I mean a girl's school uniform.

With a light green necktie and a black skirt, he was... quite a sight.

"Aww, you can come out, it's okay..." Yorufuku eased him in a comforting voice. "We're all in this together." Very slowly, he uncovered his face, revealing his green eyes.

"I-I'm... Sora Matsuzaki... the... Ultimate Therapist..." Apparently one of the most comforting and calming humans on the planet, Matsuzaki was a guy who could easily get others to open up and could help with seemingly every problem you had. While that certainly sounded nice, I wasn't so sure about being treated by someone... so nervous.

And, um, in a skirt.

After he introduced himself, the room started bustling with noise.

"Uuuu... I don't like this... where are the rest of my Twilight books..."

"I-i-i-it's 07:59..."

"Aw yeah! I haven't been this excited for a countdown since Gxhscnjkxvsrxl's awakening!"

"Grrr, what are we here for?!"

"Yo, are they gonna, like, make us run laps for some kinda entrance exam-"

 _Click._


	4. CHAPTER 1 - PART 3

_Click._

The digital clock on the wall above us changed to 08:00. The room fell into silence. What would happen? Would anything happen? Or was this the last moment of sanity we had left? All of a sudden, from the top of the basketball hoop, a teddy bear popped out and fell through the basket. It spun around again and again before finally reaching the floor with a beautiful pirouette, then turned to face us. A... a bear. One half white with a cute bear smile, one half black with a menacing red eye and sinister grin.

"Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" The bear spoke with a cheerful, bubbly voice entirely in contrast to our situation.

"A teddy bear's talking?!" Nagi screamed.

"I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" The bear asserted, paws on its hips. "And I'm your headmaster!" Dead silence once again.

"It's... alive?" Yorufuku whispered next to me.

"Of course not. Look, someone's playing a prank on us." I assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Teddy bears often come with speakers these days."

"I. Am. Monokuma!" The bear growled. "You kids are rather unbearable if I say so myself. Didn't your dear granny ever teach you to believe what people say?"

"Unbearable?! I'm gonna burn him!" Cried Kozoku.

"Alright, now listen up! I'm your headmaster! You know, back in the fifties, we got a beating for this kinda misbehaviour at school..." Monokuma glowered at us.

"Jeez, just how old are you?" Kyousuke spoke up in a notably bored tone.

"Now now, never ask a bear his age. It's quite a sensitive topic, you know!" He blushed, batting his nonexistent eyelashes. "Alright everyone, good morning and welcome to the opening ceremony for your new school life!"

"Maybe... the real headmaster has an odd sense of humour. Ryuuki suggested.

"I am the real headmaster, you nincompoop!"

"N-nincompoop..." Araki giggled.

"Here's the thing. The real world is a daaaaangerous place, isn't it?" Monokuma continued. "Especially for you Ultimates! Could you imagine the despair, the tragedy if one of the world's hopes got hurt or killed by some creep? So, we took the liberty of transporting you here!"

"Where?" Kagami questioned.

"Here!"

"Where's here?!"

"Moving on, to protect your safety... you'll all be living here, in this building."

"Uh... I don't think that was in the brochure." I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I never consented to this."

"You don't need to consent!"

"H-h-how... l-long... until..."

"How long until we can leave?!" Shibarakuni cut in for Matsuzaki.

"Hm, about that..." The bear retrieved a piece of paper from nowhere and placed a pair of reading glasses on his nose. "Never." He let both the glasses and the paper flutter worthlessly to the ground.

"...Huh." Morimiya uttered.

"You'll stay here until you die! Ahahahaha!" Monokuma cackled with laughter. "But don't worry! Your needs are well accounted for. The fridge is restocked every day, there's clean water, there's all sorts to entertain you!"

"That's not what we meant." I glared.

"Well, whether you like it or not, you're stuck here! There's no reception, no internet, no contact with the outside world here. Think of it like living before telephones!"

"Why, you want us to act like savages?" Nagi asked incredulously. "Well, I must admit that I have acted in such a role, but-"

"No one cares, mortal." Cullen shut up him up quickly.

"So, no matter what you do, there's no way anyone will be able to hear you screaming for help. Better get used to it, puhuhu." Monokuma hid his mouth behind his paw.

"A-are you saying I can't contact my mum and dad?" Rantomo mewed, almost in tears.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! Clever girl, keep this up and you'll get an A for the entire year!"

"Do they... know we're here?"

"Nope. No one knows where this is, missy. Help isn't coming. You're stuck. But this is an opportunity, don't you see? This far out of society, there are no rules!"

"No rules except to stay here forever." Kyousuke scowled.

"Well... there are some rules. For example... there is a way you can leave this place, go back to your family and friends, and spend the rest of your life in freedom." Monokuma's voice lowered.

"What's... that?" Yorufuku whimpered.

"The Graduation Clause, of course!" Monokuma burst out laughing. "And how do you graduate, you ask? That's very simple.

You commit murder."

"M-murder?!" Multiple people all cried out.

"Whether it's stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter. But if you want to leave, you're going to have to commit murder." Commit... murder. The words kept repeating themselves in my head. If I ever wanted to see anything or anyone that ever mattered to me, I had to murder someone in cold blood. And that... went for everyone. The terrifying part was that everyone felt the same.

"Are you kidding?! No one's gonna murder anyone! That's stupid!" Kisaragi countered with an accusing finger at Monokuma.

"Yeah, do you really think we're that weak-minded?!" I snapped.

"I may be shiftfaced on weed, but even I ain't gonna do that, dude..."

"Fuck this shit! Let us go home!" Ryuuki demanded. I noticed Yorufuku looking to the floor, fringe fallen in her face.

"Idiots, the lotta ya..." Monokuma flexed his claws in front of his monochrome face. "There is no going home from this point on! You're stuck, you're never leaving, kamblamo! Unless one of you murders. So, I'd say you should probably get on with it! Here, you can murder as much as you want! To your heart's content!"

"Yeah! Woo! Murder, murder, let's go!" Araki shook her pom poms around.

"Natsumin, I'm not sure now's the time..." Morimiya grinned sheepishly.

"None of us even _want_ to murder, you fake-bear!" Shiraishi thundered with a stare that made even me flinch.

"Fake? I'm the beariest bear there ever was!"

"Leave the bear-slaying to me..." Kozoku muttered in an utterly depressed voice, suddenly apparently crumpled in a heap on the ground.

"Kozuko-san?! Kozoku-san, why are you on the floor?!" Nagi exclaimed.

"Oh, I dunno... life's worthless, I guess... death..." she collapsed down onto the floor.

"Even if this is a joke, or a test, or an entrance exam..." I left Yorufuku's side, stepping up to the bear. "This is too far. Someone could get hurt as a result of this. I can't forgive it."

"What're you gonna do? Violence against the headmaster is strictly forbidden, you know! Puhuhu!" Monokuma laughed happily.

"Screw your rules. You're no headmaster of mine, and I've had it with this whole 'murder' business..." I yanked Monokuma's body and held him up for everyone to see. "I'm gonna rip you apart and find what's making you work."

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" Monokuma screeched like an alarm, flailing his arms around. A beeping sound started, quickly getting faster and faster.

"Mizokawa-san, get back!" Yorufuku burst out. In a fit of panic, I chucked him up at the ceiling, bracing myself. In a second, there was a huge explosion, and the rooftop blew open.

"What..." I breathed. "Oh god... I could've... died..."

"What, did you think that teddy was a piñata or something?" I heard Kagami snicker. The putrid scent of gunpowder began to fill the room, seeping through us.

"Is... that bastard teddy bear dead?" Cullen growled, looking around suspiciously.

"For the last time, I'm Monokuma!" The voice came from behind us. At once, we all turned, only to see the bear fully intact and well. "Just because this is your first offence... I'll let you off with a warning, Mizokawa-kun. But next time, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you." He flashed his sharp claws again. I swallowed. "Rules are very important in a school environment, you see... if anyone breaks any of the regulations, I'll have to see to it that you're duly punished!"

"And... these preposterous rules are...?" Nagi had gone completely white.

"How about I show you? Everyone, please take this kind gift from me, the Student Handbook!" He procured tablets from nowhere, yet again, and began passing them out. No one even wanted to touch such a thing, but everyone was too afraid to disobey. "Kindly open up to the 'Regulations' page on your handbook!" My pale hand still quivering from the shock of almost exploding, I opened the handbook to see the name 'Ren Mizokawa' displayed. Swallowing my fear, I switched to the Regulations section.

 **REGULATIONS**

 **#1:** Students are required to live together in the Hope's Peak Academy Winter Lodging for the foreseeable future.

 **#2:** When a murder is committed in the academy, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students.

 **#3:** If the killer (hereinafter referred to as "the blackened") is correctly identified during the class trial, only the blackened will be punished for their crime.

 **#4:** If the blackened cannot be identified, or if an incorrect student is identified as the blackened, all students except the blackened will be punished for the crime.

 **#5:** If the blackened survives the class trial, they are declared the winner. At which point, they will graduate from Hope's Peak Academy and leave the lodging.

 **#6:** If innocent students (hereinafter referred to as "the spotless") continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only two students remain.

 **#7:** "Nighttime" is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time, the dining hall and gymnasium are closed.

 **#8:** All acts of violence toward Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, are strictly prohibited.

 **#9:** A body discovery announcement will occur when three or more students discover a body.

 **#10:** Students who violate these rules will be exterminated immediately.

 **#11:** The headmaster may add additional regulations to this list at any time.

"And with that, I conclude this entrance ceremony!" Monokuma announced. "I wish you the best of luck in your killing school life! Goodbye now!" And before any of us could react, he disappeared. He ran behind the basketball post and disappeared.

"No..." Rantomo slumped to the ground. "No! I don't want to be caught up in this horrible joke! I have so much left to do with my life! I can't... end it here..."

"So what are you gonna do?" Cullen smirked creepily. "Kill someone?"

Silence. Everyone looked between one another with undisguised, pointed suspicion. I felt it from all sides. I fired it at all sides. Because any of these people, any of these strangers, could be thinking the unthinkable at that very moment.

And thus the curtain rose on this game of suspicion. This game of lies, this game of truth. This game of life and death. This game of no escape.

Our very own school killing life had finally begun.


	5. Report Card

**AN: Thank you so much to everyone who's given this a read so far! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read this.**

 **Now that they have the Student Handbook, I figure now is a good time to introduce the report card. Since there are 16 characters, it can be a little hard to keep up with, so this can be used as a reference of sorts if you get confused. If you're not interested, just read on. The real new chapter should hopefully be coming soon.**

* * *

 **MALES**

 **Ren Mizokawa**

 **Height:** 170cm

 **Weight:** 53kg

 **Chest:** 73cm

 **Blood Type:** A

 **D.O.B:** June 1

 **Likes:** Spring flowers

 **Dislikes:** Uncleanliness

 **Notes:** Ultimate Thief

* * *

 **Tsubasa Morimiya**

 **Height:** 155cm

 **Weight:** 43kg

 **Chest:** 69cm

 **Blood Type:** AB

 **D.O.B:** April 2

 **Likes:** Magical girls

 **Dislikes:** Stubborn people

 **Notes:** Ultimate Cult Leader

* * *

 **Kyousuke Kayano**

 **Height:** 185cm

 **Weight:** 78kg

 **Chest:** 95cm

 **Blood Type:** O

 **D.O.B:** December 28

 **Likes:** Heights

 **Dislikes:** Health foods

 **Notes:** Ultimate Parkourist

* * *

 **Sora Matzusaki**

 **Height:** 165cm

 **Weight:** 51kg

 **Chest:** 77cm

 **Blood Type:** A

 **D.O.B:** January 5

 **Likes:** Green tea

 **Dislikes:** Shouting

 **Notes:** Ultimate Therapist

* * *

 **Hiroki Ryuuki**

 **Height:** 191cm

 **Weight:** 80kg

 **Chest:** 93cm

 **Blood Type:** B

 **D.O.B:** February 14

 **Likes:** Motorbikes

 **Dislikes:** Uptight people

 **Notes:** Ultimate Pickup Artist

* * *

 **Haruka Shibarakuni**

 **Height:** 175cm

 **Weight:** 59kg

 **Chest:** 80cm

 **Blood Type:** A

 **D.O.B:** December 10

 **Likes:** Video games

 **Dislikes:** Loud noises

 **Notes:** Ultimate ?

* * *

 **Izanagi Kagami**

 **Height:** 187cm

 **Weight:** 78kg

 **Chest:** 95cm

 **Blood Type:** A

 **D.O.B:** July 7

 **Likes:** Sleep

 **Dislikes:** Western clothing

 **Notes:** Ultimate Actor

* * *

 **Mikoto Kagami**

 **Height:** 184cm

 **Weight:** 61kg

 **Chest:** 84cm

 **Blood Type:** A

 **D.O.B:** July 7

 **Likes:** Energy drinks

 **Dislikes:** Tight spaces

 **Notes:** Ultimate Stalker

* * *

 **FEMALES**

 **Kaori Yorufuku**

 **Height:** 168cm

 **Weight:** 56kg

 **Chest:** 80cm

 **Blood Type:** B

 **D.O.B:** October 9

 **Likes** : Amanita muscaria

 **Dislikes:** Angler fish

 **Notes:** Ultimate Mycologist

* * *

 **Natsumi Araki**

 **Height:** 173cm

 **Weight:** 48kg

 **Chest:** 100cm

 **Blood Type:** O

 **D.O.B:** August 20

 **Likes:** Rainbows

 **Dislikes:** Bugs

 **Notes:** Ultimate Cheerleader

* * *

 **Momoka Rantomo**

 **Height:** 144cm

 **Weight:** 36kg

 **Chest:** 65cm

 **Blood Type:** B

 **D.O.B:** March 30

 **Likes:** Animals

 **Dislikes:** Carrots

 **Notes:** Ultimate Girl Scout

* * *

 **Hekate Cullen**

 **Height:** 162cm

 **Weight:** 40kg

 **Chest:** 70cm

 **Blood Type:** AB

 **D.O.B:** November 13

 **Likes:** The supernatural

 **Dislikes:** Sunlight

 **Notes:** Ultimate Author

* * *

 **Yuuna Kisaragi**

 **Height:** 159cm

 **Weight:** 65kg

 **Chest:** 88cm

 **Blood Type:** O

 **D.O.B:** September 19

 **Likes:** Ramen noodles

 **Dislikes:** Pranks

 **Notes:** Ultimate Basketball Player

* * *

 **Akari Kozoku**

 **Height:** 166cm

 **Weight:** 49kg

 **Chest:** 75cm

 **Blood Type:** O

 **D.O.B:** May 24

 **Likes:** Impractical shoes

 **Dislikes:** Birds

 **Notes:** Ultimate Hunter

* * *

 **Mika Shiraishi**

 **Height:** 178cm

 **Weight:** 52kg

 **Chest:** 77cm

 **Blood Type:** O

 **D.O.B:** January 29

 **Likes:** Long nails

 **Dislikes:** Crowds

 **Notes:** Ultimate Animal Tamer

* * *

 **Bianka Nouki**

 **Height:** 164cm

 **Weight:** 55kg

 **Chest:** 84cm

 **Blood Type:** AB

 **D.O.B:** April 20

 **Likes:** Pizza

 **Dislikes:** When the edibles aren't kicking in and you eat a whole tray of brownies and suddenly you see God

 **Notes:** Ultimate Gardener


	6. CHAPTER 1 - PART 4

**AN: Thanks so much to my amazing friend who doesn't even read this fic for drawing the new cover image! It's basically just Izanagi because he's aesthetically pleasing. Please enjoy staring at him!**

* * *

 _Silence. Everyone looked between one another with undisguised, pointed suspicion. I felt it from all sides. I fired it at all sides. Because any of these people, any of these strangers, could be thinking the unthinkable at that very moment._

 _And thus the curtain rose on this game of suspicion. This game of lies, this game of truth. This game of life and death. This game of no escape._

 _Our very own school killing life had finally begun._

* * *

"How stupid." A sharp, unfamiliar voice sounded from next to me. I flinched. Wasn't that... "How fucking stupid. Falling for a killing game?" Yorufuku was grinning madly, speaking in a loud voice I never thought she could muster. I noticed she'd tied her hair up into a ponytail.

"Yorufuku-san...?" I mumbled, confused beyond belief.

"As if I'm gonna let anyone fucking kill each other!" she burst out into insane laughter. Everyone's eyes were on her. "How stupid, how stupid, not good enough at all." she shook her head. "If you think I'll let any of you knuckleheads even think about murder, I'll beat the shit outta you until you can't walk anymore! Y'hear?!" she screamed, glaring with terrifying force at everyone in the room. "I'll never, ever, ever let someone fall for such a stupid fucking practical joke by some lowlife trickster. Headmaster of Hope's Peak or not, you're going fucking _down._ " She gave a thumbs down, looking up at the security cameras placed on the ceiling.

"I'm... I'm with Yorufuku-san." I finally spoke up. "This is just... absurd. No one has to murder each other. It didn't say in the rules that we had to kill."

"That's right!" Kisaragi spoke up with a bellowing voice. "Why don't we all just be friends?"

"We just met." Kagami snickered. "You expect us to be all happy-clappy with each other? Izanagi would sooner eat you for breakfast than make friends with us."

"I-I would not!" Nagi insisted as Rantomo slowly backed away. "He lies! He tells you a porky!"

"A porky..." Kyousuke's eyes widened. "I can't believe that just came from your mouth."

"Kisaragi's right." I spoke above the crowd of idiots. "Everyone, let's get along. Let's not argue. Why don't we start by calling each other by our first names?"

"Um, no." Shiraishi immediately countered. "If anyone calls me anything but my family name, I'm out."

"Fine, let's ignore the grouchy bitch." I turned away from her.

"I'm down with that." Nouki, or perhaps I should call her Bianka, offered in her typical unbothered tone.

"Can do!" Tsubasa saluted with a cheery smile. Mental note not to trust that guy, though.

"Uuu... you can call me Hekate... but don't forget my last name..." Hekate grumbled, clutching her book to her chest. As if we could forget...

"You may call me Nagi-chan!" Nagi proudly declared with a puffed out chest and a hand over his heart. "I've grown attached to this distasteful moniker!" One by one, everyone agreed to refer to each other in a more friendly manner. Already, I could feel the shards of sanity being picked up again.

"That's right, now no one has to be a fucking idiot." Kaori grinned. I admitted that I wasn't quite used to this... transformation of hers?

"What now?" Haruka crossed his arms over his chest. "I understand that this is to prevent a murder, but to be frank, it doesn't help our present situation much."

"Well, obviously, we find an exit!" Natsumi shook her pom poms. "E, X, I, T! Exit!"

"I have a feeling this is going to get annoying fast." Haruka sighed.

"Well, everyone, move out!" Grinning, Hiroki gestured broadly with his hand.

"Let's split up." I suggested. "Then we can cover more ground. Let's meet up again in the gym in an hour to discuss our findings."

"S-sounds good..." Sora whispered, not avoiding everyone's eyes. I felt pride prick my heart. We'd managed to salvage this horrific situation. Finally, it felt like a tiny slither of light was at the end of this nightmare.

* * *

 **AN: If you have trouble visualising the layout, I've included a link to a drawing of the first floor on my profile.**

* * *

Back outside the gym, I noticed Kyousuke immediately heading to the room on our right. I was planning to go in there first, but now... Instead, I made my way toward the double doors to the room next to it. Inside was a very large mahogany dining table, complete with sixteen comfortable-looking chairs surrounding it. Wow, fancy. This really did feel like a winter resort, what with the wine red curtains draping over the huge windows, contrasting with the slowly falling snow outside. For some reason, Bianka was lying face-up on the carpet, staring at the ceiling like it was the answer to all life's questions.

"Are you alright, Bianka-san?" I crouched down next to her, unsure what kind of response I'd get.

"I've never been more alright than right now." she performed a grand gesture up at the ceiling, her autumn eyes shining with inspiration. "My future, my destiny... it's all there."

"And, um, what does it say?"

"Pizza." Bianka turned to me blankly. I decided now was probably good as time as ever to leave her alone, and sat down opposite Sora at the table.

"Hey, Sora-kun, how's the investi- wait, where'd you get that tea from?" My eyes widened. "You've been in here less than two minutes!"

"I... like green tea." he replied in a meek voice, staring down at it. "It's nice."

"That doesn't really answer the question."

"Would you like some?" Sora smiled shyly. "It's very nice. And relaxing."

"I admit I'm a bit more concerned with searching this place and escaping right now, but thanks for the offer." I replied.

"You shouldn't think about it so much." he shook his head. "I can tell how worried you are, even if you're trying to be calm for everyone's sake. Relax. It'll all turn out okay if we work together. We're Ultimates. We can do anything." I found my spirits beginning to perk up.

"Hey, thanks, Sora-kun..." I gave him a smile, for the first time taking in his impressive talent. Note to self, wearing dragon horns and a skirt doesn't impede one's abilities as a therapist. "I'm gonna call you Matcha."

"M-Matcha?" he ducked his head. "I've... never had a nickname before..."

"Well, thanks, Matcha." I stood up again with a grin. "We'll definitely get out of here. You can count on it." He nodded very quickly, growing embarrassed once again. Finally, I started toward the only person doing what they were supposed to in this room - Mikoto, as it happened, who was inspecting the windows with a thoughtful expression.

"Mikoto-san?" I addressed him. His messy pink hair was certainly distinctive.

"Yes?" Not even facing me, he began forcing the window open.

"You found an escape?" I brightened.

"I wouldn't say this is an escape..." he placed his hand under his chin. "These windows aren't reinforced at all. Even an amateur could've done better. I don't think this building is necessarily what we're meant to escape from."

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"It's extremely easy to leave from here. I don't think they're trying to trap us in here."

"I guess I understand..." I gave him a sideways glance. Mikoto was certainly acting quite differently to how he had back in the gym. "So, Mikoto-san, um... did you actually get kidnapped, or was that a lie too?" I decided to take a risk. After all, if we were to be better friends, I should probably get to know everyone better.

"Way to ask people traumatic questions in the your first conversation with someone, Ren." Mikoto mocked, still not really recognising my presence. "Yes, I really was. But I would appreciate it if you treated me like any normal human being. Just because I was on the news doesn't make me some rare commodity." With that, he hopped out of the window before I could even tell him to stop, sinking a little into the pile of snow. "I'm off. You'd better get a move on too, Ren." he warned before heading off in an unknown direction. Jeez... something told me there'd be no point in telling that guy to be careful.

* * *

The next room I entered was the lounge in which I'd initially woken up. Sure enough, Kaori had also returned here, and was looking around for any clues, her new ponytail swishing.

"Yo, Kaori-san..." I approached her with newfound nerves. I mean... what the hell happened to her back there?

"Ren-kun." she sighed, her gaze fixated on the floor. "This really isn't the kind of situation I want to be in on a Monday morning."

"Well... neither, I guess." I examined her. She seemed to have calmed down a little. "Are you okay? What happened back there?"

"I dislike stupid things." her eyes turned had turned rigid. "And this is definitely stupid."

"You don't believe this killing game is real, then?"

"I don't know. All I know is that this is stupid, and I'll stop everyone for falling for it. You aren't stupid, are you, Ren-kun?" Kaori shot me a fierce glare.

"'Course not." I crossed my arms. "You don't have to worry about me. Have you found anything new?"

"Well, I said this was Monday, right?" she tapped her foot. "In fact, it's actually Sunday."

"Sunday?" I blinked. Kaori pointed toward the clock we'd seen back when we first woke up.

"It says 'Sun'."

"Sure it just doesn't mean 'sunny', or something?" I suggested.

"A clock which tells the weather? I don't think so. Besides, it's snowing." Kaori placed her hands on her hips. "I'm sure that means Sunday. But the only way we could check is if we wait until tomorrow to see if there's a date change."

"This is getting weirder and weirder..." I scratched my cheek. "Thanks, Kaori-san. Let me know if you find out anything else."

"Sure." Nodding, she returned back to searching the room. Only one more room in this corridor. Damn, I couldn't avoid it any longer. Time to have a chat with Kyousuke...


	7. CHAPTER 1 - PART 5

Prepared for the worst, I entered the final room, and was greeted with the sight of a massive arcade. This place was absolutely packed. Due to covered windows in the back, the place was dimly lit, only really visible thanks to the bright screens flooding the area. Sure enough, Kyousuke was looking around, with... Momoka? Oh no, I'd probably better save the poor thing.

"Ren." Kyousuke called out to me first, stalking over. The darkness of the room made him even more intimidating. He towered over me, only reminding me how easy it would be for him to end me at any second, and his baggy clothes made him seem even huger.

"Hey, Kyousuke." I placed my hands in my pockets to hide their trembling, looking him in the eye.

"How's the searching?" I tried not to let my eyes wander to his fists, covered in fingerless gloves.

"S'alright, s'alright... you?"

"Ain't much in here." he shrugged. "But I wanted to talk to you." My heart sunk.

"Oh yeah?"

"Listen, you're in my field. I wanted to know if you've ever heard of any kind of organisation that does things like this."

"I tend not to associate myself with people in the underworld." I clenched my fists. Right now, I found myself wishing I had. Maybe it'd give us some kind of clue to get out of this mess.

"So you're the same as me..." he sighed, his deep voice tinged with annoyance. "I was thinking that someone might be out for revenge, considering you and I are here, maybe Mikoto and Izanagi. But it doesn't account for why anyone would kidnap our entire class. How about Mikoto? Have you asked him?"

"Mikoto?" I slapped my own face. "I didn't even consider it. He mentioned underground government work, so he must have some kind of clue."

"That's what I'm thinkin'." Kyousuke muttered. "Welp, if you don't know anything, don't worry about it. Keep doing what you're doing." he placed his big hand over my head, making me flinch, but all he did was ruffle my hair before leaving to go investigate somewhere else. ...Huh. He wasn't that bad.

"Hey Momoka-chan, are you okay?" I had to crane my neck to look down at the tiny girl scout now left in the room. She was staring at the door Kyousuke had exited through.

"He's... kind of cool, isn't he?" I noticed her cheeks were bright pink, even in this darkness. ...You can't be serious. Of all people. Kyousuke. Momoka, you are going down on my rapidly increasing list of deranged people.

"Um, I'm not really sure he's the kind of person you should look up to, Momoka-chan..." I waved my hands, trying to dissuade her. I felt like I was a parent teaching their child to not hang out with the wrong crowd.

"E-eh..." Momoka started fidgeting with distress. "Ren-san, what kind of girls does Kyousuke-kun like?"

"...Momoka-chan, I met Kyousuke at the exact same time you did."

"I-I'll go help him out!" she exclaimed. And with that, she'd bolted out as fast as her little legs could take her. ...Momoka, my new adopted daughter, no... don't fall for that guy...

* * *

I'd only entered three rooms, and I already felt like I needed to see Matcha again. I thought of his calming words and his calming voice, then psyched myself up again. Ren, you can do this! You have to do this, for the sake of your classmates! Now outside the corridor, I found myself in what was likely the lobby of what I was guessing was this massive winter lodge. As I'd previously noted, there was a large staircase which seemingly led upstairs, but it was blocked off by a huge metal shutter. I could see the exit to the building from here, but Mikoto's words discouraged me from attempting to leave so quickly. It didn't look reinforced at all. It was probably the simplest thing in the world to get outside from here. Instead, I checked the small room near the door. A nondescript, everyday bathroom. Boring. I then made my way to the door near the back of the lobby, near the stairs. I was stunned from the moment I walked in to what appeared to be a storeroom. It was hugely disorganised, and an all manner of crap was strewn about absolutely everywhere. I could probably find the real Edward Cullen in here if I looked hard enough. I decided then and there to not tell Hekate that I ever thought that. And then, on top of a huge pile of... um... loads of stuff, I noted two people sitting in a sled, one eye-glaringly bright, the other squintingly dark. It happened to be Natsumi, and conveniently, the other dark horse of the group, Tsubasa.

"I am Santa, hear me roar!" Tsubasa yelled at the top of his voice, his fists in the air.

"Wow, I've always wanted to meet Santa-san!" Natsumi squealed, evidently impressed about literally nothing. And then, they sledded down the mountain of supplies at top speed, laughing like idiots and high fiving. Natsumi accidentally snorted, which made the both of them laugh even harder. Oh boy.

"Hey, Natsumi-chan, Tsubasa-san." I waved to them. "You guys found anything useful?"

"A sled!" Tsubasa grinned proudly, gesturing toward their vehicle of choice.

"A bra!" Natsumi held up someone else's bra. I facepalmed.

"I meant, anything critical to the investigation?"

"A bra!" Natsumi yelled again. Okay, time to leave. But just as I opened the door, I felt a cold, slimy presence slither up my back. Screaming, I dropped to the floor, trying to claw off whatever the hell was climbing on me.

"What, leaving so soon?" Tsubasa's voice was suddenly extremely, uncomfortably close. I slowly turned to him. He was standing above me with his creepy smile, resting his weight on his left leg. No getting around it, Tsubasa terrified me. He may have been tiny, but there was no mistaking how dangerous he could be.

"...The hell did you do to me?" I whimpered.

" _I_ didn't do anything."his smile widened a little. "If anything happened to you, it must've been Gxhscnjkxvsrxl's bidding." I resisted every urge in my body to call him a creepy little maggot and tell him to back off.

"Look, I don't believe in your god..." I mumbled. "Please let me go."

"I'm not stopping you." he offered me a hand, which I instinctively recoiled from. "Afraid? I thought so. You're afraid of me before you've even met me. Seems silly to me, Ren-chan." He was right, but there were some things you just couldn't be rational about. I was a thief. And I didn't think I could be as skilled as I was without the hardships life had dealt me. And those hardships meant I could never trust a cult. Not as long as I lived. I noticed I was shuddering, but I couldn't really stop myself.

"Don't freak out, Ren-chan." Tsubasa crouched next to me. "Not many people trust a cultist, of course... but I'm not a bad person. My cult is all about happiness, you know? I would never hurt someone. Gxhscnjkxvsrxl is a kind God."

"Tsubasa-san, I'm sorry..." I bit my lip. "I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but it's hard."

"No worries, I would rather earn your trust than be privileged to it... after all, what kind of trust is that?" Tsubasa smiled again. God, it was creepy... but to be honest, I could sense that it wasn't on purpose. He was trying to be friendly.

"Ren-kun, you don't trust Tsubasa-chan?" Natsumi pouted, flashing me puppy dog eyes. "Tsubasa-chan is super nice! I can already tell! No one who likes magical girls can be a bad person!"

"Magical girls..." My eye twitched.

"Ren-kun, you should believe in people!" she beamed, shaking her pom poms. "Just like how I believe in you! Fight, fight!"

"It's fine, Natsumin..." Tsubasa shook his head. "I'm used to it."

"Sorry we didn't help much, but at least we checked the room so you don't have to!" Natsumi cheered. That wasn't even encouragement at all, but for some reason, I now felt inspired to search this entire place in record time. That woman was seriously powerful. Now, time to go outside.


	8. CHAPTER 1 - PART 6

**AN: Two chapters in one day because I felt bad about not updating for a while. I was kind of planning on including all of these investigating chapters into one, but then I realised that they were way too long because I wanted to make them a bit more interesting with the conversations.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy and have a wonderful Valentine's Day! It's also Hiroki's birthday! Happy birthday douchebag!**

* * *

I was almost disappointed when the double doors opened so easily. Talk about an anticlimax. There was a small footpath uncovered by snow. Couldn't do any harm to follow it, so I decided to just let it take me wherever. It ended up at another building, not as big as the lodge, however. Just like it, though, it was rustic and wooden, a collection of snow clinging to the roof. Inside was a large hall, surrounded on all sides with sixteen doors. To my surprise, each had a pixelated picture of one of us next to it. In the middle of the floor, I caught sight of Hekate mumbling to herself, face downturned to her Twilight book and casting a shadow across it. Hiroki was next to her, staring at her with an extremely concerned expression.

"Hekate-san, are you alright?" I addressed her. Her head snapped up with a glare that wasn't actually very threatening, but more googly than anything. Was Hekate bad at giving people the evil eye? That was kind of funny in itself.

"Tell me, Ren-san. Have you read Meyer-dono's masterpieces?"

"I... can't say I have." I replied awkwardly, afraid of invoking her wrath.

"I highly recommend you do. They're life-changing." Looking at this messed up, ragged girl before me, I could definitely believe that they did change her life, but perhaps not for the better.

"Why are they so important to you, Hekate-san?" I asked. I was actually genuinely curious as to why she was so obsessed.

"They... taught me the ways." she began to smile. It grew wider and wider, her dark violet eyes growing in turn. "Yes, the ways, the ways..."

"Ren-kun, please help me!" Hiroki cried, rushing to my side. "She's been saying this bullshit for ages now, and I can't take it anymore!"

"...Did she tell you to read Twilight as well?"

"She was reciting all the lines from the third book, Ren-kun! She doesn't even have the third book on her!" he gripped either side of his head, taking on the appearance of a tortured soul burning in hell. "But she replaces the word 'Edward' with 'god', and she replaces the word 'Bella' with 'Hekate', and I can't take it anymore!"

"So talk to me instead?" I placed my hands on my hips. "What've you found, Hiroki-kun?"

"Oh, um..." It took the redhead a moment to snap out of his complaining trance. "This is the guest house, it seems. We've all got a room, but you can only access your own by swiping your Handbook. I've only checked my room, so I'm not sure, but I think each has things that we personally use for our talent. I guess it would be easier to show you. Let's go to your room." Hiroki pointed to my placard, which I admittedly thought was kind of cute. They had my blonde hair and favourite blue hoodie down perfectly. If we were gonna get out of here, I made a note to take this thing along. As Hiroki requested, I pressed my Handbook against the flat doorknob. There was a flash of green light and a small beep, and then it cracked open.

"Ooh. Fancy." I noted, stepping inside. The room was themed with blue, but whether it was because I was a boy or because it was my favourite colour was anyone's guess. There was a double bed against the wall closest to the door with light blue sheets, along with a wardrobe, ensuite bathroom and a bedside table. If it had been any other situation, I would've thought it would be very homely. As Hiroki had said, scattered around the place were my favourite tools of trade all laid out on shelves and tables. From advanced lock picks to diamond window cutters, everything was here. It... was actually scary how tailored this was to me. After all, some things I tended to use were less than normal, to confuse others over my methods. They clearly intended to have us stay in this place.

"Hiroki-kun, I am officially terrified." I turned to him with a smile.

"Uh-huh, me too." he grinned back.

"It looks to me like whoever kidnapped us must have had quite an intimate understanding of all sixteen. Which is... both concerning and confusing." I thought back. I was confident I'd never told anyone about how I stole, my methods or the tools I used. I mean, not only was it dangerous, but I didn't really have anyone I was that close to at all.

"I get what you mean..." Hiroki sighed. "You know, I was actually hoping that it was just my room that would be so personalised. Then I imagine it could've been one of my past boyfriends or something, and that would really narrow it down and give us a motive. But things never turn out so nicely, do they?" he crossed his arms, biting his lip and looking to the side. "You know, Ren-kun. I've never thought I was exactly the nicest person in the world. I'm sure Mikoto-kun and Tsubasa-kun and probably loads of others have done bad things too. But I don't think we deserve this. No one does. I want to get us out, for everyone's sake."

"Me too, Hiroki-kun." I held out my hand. He was confused for a moment, then smiled and shook it with a friendly amount of force. "Let's work together. We're going to get out of here if it costs me every skill I have as a thief."

"I'm not sure being a pickup artist will really help us, but I'll do my damn best too. Thanks, bro."

"No problem. Now, we should probably do something about Hekate before someone trips over her..." Laughing, I scratched my cheek.

"Haha, yeah, you're right. Tell you what, I'll try deal with her. I bet she'll want to go see her Twilight-ass room. You go ahead and investigate everywhere else. Counting on you." Hiroki gave me a quick salute before jogging off to the pink-haired girl still crumpled on the floor.

* * *

My next destination was right beside the guest house, a small and quaint brick building with dark green ivy crawling up the sides, resistant to the winter cold.

"Yo yo, Ren-kun!"

"I hath found thee, Ren-chan!" The brash, slightly boyish voice of Yuuna and Nagi's elegant prose reached me from behind.

"Re-Ren-chan?!" I started blushing at his words.

"Why, yes, of course!" Nagi proudly placed his hand on his heart with an adorable smile. "If you refer to me as Nagi-chan, I must call you Ren-chan in return! It is only natural to extend such honour to my biggest fan!"

"BIGGEST FAN?" I squealed, covering my mouth with excitement. Somehow, it seemed that Nagi's opinion of me was improving at a rapid rate.

"Yaoi alert!" Yuuna yelled, stepping back with a red face.

"What is a 'yaoi'?" Nagi smiled with such blinding innocence, we both had to hide our eyes.

"N-nothing, Nagi-chan..." Yuuna forced out, gritting her teeth.

"Haha, so yaoi means 'nothing'! I will keep it in mind!" Nagi beamed like he'd won a million yen. "Anon, what couldst beest behind this doth'r?"

"Sorry?" Yuuna scratched her head. Without explaining, Nagi tried the door handle.

"Fie. It shall not concede."

"You mean it won't open? Let me try." I placed my hand on it in turn. Of course, it wouldn't open.

"Yaoi will entice it." Nagi sighed. Yuuna started choking on the floor.

"P-please don't use the word yaoi, Nagi-chan..." she begged for dead life.

"In any case, it looks like it's locked." I held my hand out, palm facing upward. "I know Yuuna-chan would have no problem breaking the handle, but I feel like we probably shouldn't break it just in case. I'll pick the lock."

"Ooh! A true thief!" Yuuna grinned.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A cheery voice that sent shivers down my spine sounded out from next to me. Monokuma had appeared from nowhere, claws raised, face somehow burning red. "Mizokawa-san, you can't just pick any lock you please! This is school property! And as your headmaster, I just can't let that slide!"

"What, so we just can't go in there?" I glared at the monochrome bear.

"No, you big idiot! Just let me unlock the door. Kids these days." he grumbled. "OPEN SESAME!" Without even touching it, the door clicked. My eye twitched.

"Um, what did you do? And actually, while I'm at it, how the hell did you get here, you creepy bear?"

"A bear never tells his secrets!" Monokuma pushed out his chest proudly. "Now go on, go on in! Buh-bye!" The bear rushed behind the trunk of a nearby conifer.

"Hey, wait, you!" I spat, chasing after him. But I was left dumbfounded to find that he'd completely disappeared.

"Magic!" Yuuna screamed. "He's magic! He's gonna kill us all with a Halloween Cannon!"

"Let's just let him be..." I groaned, hunching over my back as I returned to open the door. Inside were two rather large flowerbeds full of all kinds of colourful roses.

"Spectacular!" Nagi cried, yellow eyes sparkling with joy. "They're gorgeous! Ah, they remind me of my role in 'A Midnight Guise'... tragically destined for solitude..." Nagi dropped to the floor, clutching his chest, solemn passion in his eyes. "A flash, a spark in his life, the rose he so longed for... and yet, the thorns stung his hand whenever he was to reach out..."

"Yeah, um, are you okay?" Yuuna looked very concerned, seeing as how Nagi had started crying. "It's just a couple of roses, Nagi-chan..."

"OH, THE PAROXYSM OF LOVE!"

"The what now?" she scratched her head.

"Yuuna-chan." I faced her. "I've always been curious. You're pretty short, but you're still so great at basketball. How do you do it?"

"Passion!" she grinned. "If you really love something, you can do anything to achieve it."

"That's a good outlook." I found myself smiling. "So you believe we can get out of here?"

"Of course! The sky's the limit when you put your mind to it." she giggled. "You must think the same with your stealing thing, right?"

"Hm, I dunno about that..." I laughed quietly.

"Hey, what's that?" she pointed toward a grate in the wall. "An escape?"

"Hate to break it to you, but it just looks like a normal vent. Besides, we could just go through the door if we wanted to go outside of the building." I shrugged.

"Ooh! Of course! You're so smart, Ren-kun!" Yuuna patted my head. "You're good at dealing with Nagi-chan, right? Do you think you could get him to stop crying?"

"Well, I'm not exactly his friend." I poked my fingers together. Friends... with Nagi? Ridiculous. He was too cool for me. "But I can give it a try. Hey, Nagi-chan." I hovered above him, then knelt down to his height huddled on the floor.

"Ren-chan. Life is hard sometimes." he weeped, wiping a tear. Even I felt some emotion at that. Poor Nagi-chan... God, why? Why do you punish this poor, innocent man? The hardship, the sorrow... no one deserved tha-

Wait. Wasn't this guy a total rich kid with like zero issues in his life? What hardships? I facepalmed. This guy's acting has way too much of an effect.

"Nagi-chan, I really liked your performance in that movie." I smiled genuinely. "You were so full of spirit. You _were_ Ryuga. It was beautiful. I cried seven times."

"Ah, thank you, Ren-chan!" he perked up in less than a second. "I am so happy to hear that I have moved you in this way. You give me the inspiration to act and provide you with more and more feeling!" Now Nagi was beaming, exuding light, swinging from side to side with his fists raised near his cheeks. ...Well, at least he was easy to manage. I had a feeling Nagi was going to be very easy to keep under control if that's all it took.

* * *

Next door to the rose garden was an animal shed. A picture of Akari with a red X over it was stuck to the door. Around twenty animals of all shapes and sizes roamed in several enclosures. And in the middle of the floor was Shiraishi. Cuddling a massive grizzly bear.

"Jesus Christ! Shiraishi-san, are you okay?!" I screamed. She turned to me with a stormy glare. ...Oh yeah. The Ultimate Animal Tamer. Of... of course. I was a little cautious of her, seeing how unfriendly she'd been so far, but then she turned right back to the bear.

"I'm gonna call you Fuzzy Wuzzy-san!" Shiraishi giggled in a girly voice I'd never expected to hear from her. "Fuzzy Wuzzy-san, your fur is so fuzzy-wuzzy. Oh, hello, Pikupiku-chan!" she swept up a passerby puppy into her arms as well. ...That's... some stellar naming sense, Shiraishi. "Who's a good boy?" The puppy looked up at her, kept in deep suspense. Just who was the good boy? "You're a good boy!" Pikupiku barked with happiness, wagging his tail.

"Um, Shiraishi-sa-"

"Shut up, maggot! I'm feeding Mofumofu-kun!" she yelled back at me. "Aw, Mofumofu-kun, look how cute you are... you're amazing. I can't believe you learnt how to build fireworks already!" I facepalmed. Did she just teach that rabbit how to make fireworks? Why? And how?

"Shiraishi-san! Have you found anything to help us escape?!" Growing frustrated, I yelled my words above the calls of the animals in the room.

"...Hn." she didn't meet my eyes. "No."

"That's, um, quite the different personality you have with animals..." I laughed awkwardly. Wow, she was scary.

"Don't be ridiculous. I always act the same." she snapped. "Isn't that right, Fuzzy Wuzzy-san!" her voice had turned sickeningly cute. ...Wow, this girl. "Aren't animals amazing, Mizokawa-san?" For the first time when she talked to one of us, she smiled softly, watching Pikupiku drink some water. It could've been the lighting, but somehow, her smile seemed... lonely. Seeing Shiraishi among all these animals, I had to wonder if she even had a human friend. Or... ever had one.

"Shiraishi-san..."

"If you're done here, then get out!" she barked, back to her usual bossy tone. I sighed. Either way, looks like I probably wouldn't be getting close to her anytime soon. I cast another glance at the girl. Even if... she somehow reminded me of myself.


	9. CHAPTER 1 - PART 7

The final location I checked was in direct view of the lodge - the huge pine forest ahead. It was extremely dark inside. The trees had grown tightly knit to one another, which meant that no plants had grown on the ground, and it was also fairly barren of snow. Only little pinpricks of sunlight shone through. On all fours on the ground, though, I stopped a certain girl with a massive ribbon in her hair.

"Ren-kun!" Akari screamed at the top of her lungs. I covered my ears, scrunching my eyes shut.

"Jesus, Akari-chan!" I whimpered. "You sound like some kind of vengeful ghost!"

"Thanks!" she screeched. I found myself wondering, yet again, why the prey just didn't scatter the moment she set foot into her hunting grounds.

"What are you doing, anyway?" I noted her odd position, from which she hadn't moved in the slightest.

"Hohoh." she laughed ambiguously, offering no explanation.

"Have you actually been doing anything useful?" I eyed her. In a second, she had fallen to the ground and now lay with her face in the dirt. She made no effort to move, now appearing like some kind of depressed starfish.

"Oh, yeah, that thing..." Her voice was hollow, dry and upset. "No... I hate myself... I'm worthless... I should stay here and die..."

"Are you well? Do you have brain damage?" I stood over her, concerned to some extent, but also so incredibly confused that I found it difficult to find the capacity to care in any substantial manner.

"I'm fine... just wallowing in the knowledge that all life is useless..." she twirled a strand of her jet black bob. "Datura and all that..."

"Akari-chan, are you going to offer any explanation whatsoever?" I queried. She shook her head, further covering herself with dirt.

"Sometimes I wish a cruise ship would crash into us and kill us all..."

"How specific. You're good at exploring forests as the Ultimate Hunter, right? Should I leave that to you?"

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" Akari perked up in a second, fell back onto the ground, then hoisted herself to her feet with a backflip, flashing me in the process. "HAIYAAAAAAH!" With newfound energy, she crouched back onto all fours and began scampering away at the speed of a cheetah. ...She would be fine. Surely.

* * *

I was about to leave, afraid of tripping over a root and getting lost, when I spotted a head of fluffy grey hair in the darkness. Haruka, arms still crossed over his chest, was moving around, apparently finding it difficult with the lack of light.

"Haruka!" I greeted him. He turned, eyebrow raised.

"Ren."

"Found anything?"

"Nope. This forest's too thick." he growled. For how he came off, Haruka's voice was quite high pitched. It was almost cutely out of place.

"Yeah, I kind of feel like we should get out." I laughed, but soon stopped when I saw the concern evident in his face. "Oh. Sorry, Haruka. Forgetting your talent is probably... pretty rough on you."

"I guess." he sighed, shuffling his foot. Puffs of dust from the frozen soil kicked up into the air. "You probably don't trust me. After all, I'm the only outsider."

"No, I've never considered you dangerous." I told him honestly, shrugging. "I don't know you or anything about you, Haruka. It's ridiculous to suspect you based on that alone. I don't even think Tsubasa-kun is behind this, honestly."

"Pfft." he let out an honest laugh, his hand close to his mouth. "That won't get you anywhere, Ren. I thought you were a thief?"

"A good thief trusts his instincts, and mine tell me you're an alright guy."

"You know, Ren, I appreciate that stupidity in a person." he grinned. "I think it's admirable. But of course, I can't trust you anyway."

"Ha." I smiled. "I would've called you an idiot if you didn't listen to your own lecture."

"Naturally. I don't plan to trust anyone."

"Have it your way, Haruka. You'll need that trust one day."

"Now run along, rat boy. I'm sure you've got better things to do."

"Alright. Bye bye, Haruka!" I friendlily waved my goodbye. But with my back turned to him, my mouth twisted into a sadistic smirk. Of course, you're right about me, Haruka. I'm a thief. As if I could ever really trust anyone in a game like this. Though the trees above me rendered the sky almost pitch black, I stared up at them. Yes, Kaori and Haruka were smarter than the others here. I didn't lie to him back there. As a thief, you have to trust your instincts. But when you have the opportunity to doubt, a thief always takes it. And this situation of ours had definitely lent me that opportunity.

* * *

 **AN: Hey everyone and thank you for reading as always! Now that Ren** **has spent a little bit of time with each of the characters individually, I hope you've all gotten a sense of who they are! It may be a little early, but I'll be setting up a poll for the FTEs on my profile, so go ahead and vote if you already have an attachment to someone. I'll leave another AN a week in advance to let you know when it's about to end. (There'll be four events per chapter, so feel free to vote up to four times.)**


	10. CHAPTER 1 - PART 8

**AN: I'M SO SORRY FOR THE MASSIVE DELAY BUT THIS ISN'T DEAD AND NEITHER AM I**

 **Sorry for the radio silence for a long while, but I've been busy studying for my exams coming up soon and really haven't had much chance to write. I haven't given up on this yet though and I'm looking forward to get into the action. I hope this chapter can suffice for now - sorry it's a little short and not too much happens. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be coming, but I promise it's on the way at some point.**

* * *

Just before we were due to meet up, I locked myself in the bathroom in the lobby and set out everything in my pockets on the floor. I was pretty surprised by the wide array of items. While I talked to everyone, I'd taken the liberty of emptying their pockets. I studied them intently. I couldn't take any chances in this kind of situation. Most were harmless, but a few had me worried. Tsubasa had been carrying around a strange looking ritual knife, Akari had a lot of concealed weapons, and Mikoto and Kyousuke both had genuine pistols. Stealing from everyone, of course, had been easy. Tsubasa, though, twitched a little, but didn't actually seem to recognise there was an issue. His sixth sense was undoubtedly sharp, but it wasn't a danger if he didn't even realise it himself. It looked like a lot of people here had the potential to be dangerous. Satisfied, I gathered them all up again, humming to myself. We all met up in the gym once more. Everyone was still very on edge. I carefully placed back the contents of everyone's belongings in exactly the place I snagged them from, pretending as if I was just talking to each individually. Finally, the last person, Mikoto, swung open the door and entered.

"Before we discuss our findings..." I begun, clearing my throat. "I'd like to request that everyone hands in any weapons they have on their person." Stage two of my plan. Several people exchanged glances. Immediately, Kyousuke and Tsubasa handed in their weapons without a second thought, placing them on the ground. Wow. Impressive. So the two I was most afraid of were also the two most honest. After a bit of a pause, Mikoto handed his gun in too. To show my sincerity, I rooted through my pockets, placing down ten knives, three guns, and a taser.

"Jesus, Ren." Kyousuke whistled. I put down five more knives. "...Jesus, Ren." Followed by a revolver. "JESUS, REN!"

"I'm done, I'm done!" I quickly assured him. I flashed a glance at Akari, who had grit her teeth. I was immediately on my guard. My plan, of course, was to root out potential murderers. Only I knew what everyone was carrying now. If someone refused to give up their weapons, something was definitely up. Finally, Akari handed in the knives on her garter, the ones on the bottom of her shoes, and, to my relief, the ones concealed in her panties, which she managed to retrieve by pushing down on her dress a little. How did I know they were there? Uhhh... Ren sense. Now I was satisfied. Everyone had committed to the truth, and de facto to not murdering, even the more suspicious members of our class.

"So... like..." Yuuna began, still looking a bit shook up by the idea that so many of us had weapons on hand. "We need to get rid of them, right?"

"Gimme a D!" shouted Natsumi.

"D!" Tsubasa called out.

"I!"

"I!"

"E!"

"E!"

"DIE?!" Nagi cried, taking a few steps back."

"Yeah! Die, weapons! Haiiiiyah!" Natsumi pointed at the weapon pile with her pom poms.

"Dude... they're not moving..." Bianka offered, wide-eyed. "I think they might already be dead..."

"In any case..." Mikoto sighed. "We don't have the proper resources to dispose of these things. My suggestion is we use up all the bullets on Izanagi and bury them in the snow with him."

"I-I would most certainly die!" I much preferred Mikoto when he wasn't teasing his brother like this...

"If it's disposing of things, leave it to me!" A now regretfully familiar cheerful voice popped out of nowhere. We all turned, now not even surprised to see Monokuma standing there. "We wouldn't just let the bins get full, it's unhygienic! Anything you throw in the trash will be taken away after precisely one hour, no matter what it is! Of course, that means you'd better be careful what you throw away."

"That... sounds useful, but also scary..." Momoka voiced her concern.

"Now that that's over with..." Mikoto grinned at us all. "I found something good."

"What... your porn stash, you creep...?" Hekate glowered at him.

"I wish all my porn was here." He shrugged. "No internet? How's any decent man gonna survive? I mean, at least you've got Edward to schlick yourself to."

"Get on with it!" Haruka demanded, obviously disgusted.

"Yeah yeah." Mikoto rolled his blue eyes. "Well, I found a garage."

"Wow! What's in it?!" Momoka beamed, hope radiating from her expression.

"Well, I dunno." He looked toward me. "I'm not the Ultimate Thief. I'm gonna need some lock-picking talent."

"Oh, maybe that's what this key's for?" I swung a golden keyring on my finger, much to everyone's shock. "What? I got it off Monokuma."

"...Let's just say I'm glad you're on our side." Yuuna coughed.

"I think we should go check it out." Kaori suggested, still a little in awe of my thievery. What did they expect?

"To the garage!" Natsumi called, shaking her pom poms high. Suddenly things were getting a lot more interesting. What would we find in this garage? Something Monokuma wanted to keep us from, that was for certain.


End file.
